Joseph Karam, MD
Vascular Surgery · Minneapolis, MNNPI 1942430491
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (48.4%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 55.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $28,147 and has fallen 92.1% since, to $2,213 in 2025. Among vascular surgery clinicians in MN with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 189 payments — averaging $467.30 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$49K
- Philips North America LLC$26K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$10K
- Integer Holdings Corporation$3K
- Silk Road Medical, Inc.$886
- Intuitive Surgical$231
- plus $360 from 5 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $6983.33 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- KCI USA, Inc.$17K
- Solventum Corporation$4K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$29,77534%
- Speaking & faculty fees$42,76448%
- Travel & lodging$8,58010%
- Food & beverage$7,2018%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 101 | $48,728 |
| Philips North America LLC | 33 | $25,794 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 33 | $9,521 |
| Integer Holdings Corporation | 2 | $2,800 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 6 | $886 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 3 | $231 |
| Smith+Nephew | 7 | $183 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 1 | $95 |
| TELA Bio, Inc. | 1 | $52 |
| Stryker | 1 | $16 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $13 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
- HawkOne$37,368
- (9520) IGT Devices Undivided$20,487
- GORE VIABAHN VBX Balloon Expandable Endo$7,701
- ENDURANT IIS$7,304
- (6554) Periph Vasc Undiv$3,315
- VIABAHN Endoprosthesis with PROPATEN Bioactive Surface$2,784
- GORE VIABAHN Endoprosthesis$2,000
- TurboHawk$1,430
- Guidewire$1,000
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System$802
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent System$802
- ENHANCE Transcarotid Peripheral Access Kit$802
- ENROUTE 0.014 Guidewire$802
- GORE EXCLUDER Thoracoabdominal Branch Endoprosthesis$471
- (BR5) Peripheral IVUS$416
- GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis$330
- (6577) Visions 014$228
- C3 Delivery System$183
- EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis$154
- Conformable TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$147
How this compares
$88,319 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 84 vascular surgery providers in Minnesota.
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 34 | $579 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 22 | $181 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 14 | $93 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other vascular surgery in Minneapolis
- Jesse ManungaMinneapolis$95K
- Derrick GreenMinneapolis$37K
- Jason AlexanderMinneapolis$11K
- Elliot StephensonMinneapolis$9K
- Christopher PedersenMinneapolis$8K
- Rachel AndrieMinneapolis$4K
- Timothy SullivanMinneapolis$4K
- Daniel IhnatMinneapolis$3K
- Layne JandaMinneapolis$3K
- Katherin LeckieMinneapolis$3K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.